Sailor dies as Swedish Cup entry capsizes

A two-time Olympic medalist on the Swedish America’s Cup racing team was killed Thursday when his team’s cutting-edge sailboat tipped during training on San Francisco Bay, trapping him underwater for at least 10 minutes.

Andrew Simpson, a 36-year-old Briton who had moved his family to San Francisco, was a strategist for Artemis Racing. He was preparing to challenge Cup champion Oracle Team USA in races that will run from July to September in 72-foot catamarans designed to give the world’s oldest international sporting event extreme appeal.

After the 1:15 p.m. wreck a half-mile north of Treasure Island, Simpson was pulled from the water by teammates and rushed to shore, where he was pronounced dead after 20 minutes of CPR, authorities said. Coast Guard officials said all 11 sailors on board were thrown into the frigid water, with all but Simpson able to haul themselves into waiting Artemis support boats.

“We obviously had a tragic day out on the bay,” said Artemis CEO Paul Cayard, a six-time America’s Cup veteran whose team is sponsored by the Royal Swedish Yacht Club. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Simpson family, his wife and kids and the rest of the team. This was a shocking experience to go through. We have a lot to deal with in the next few days to ensure everyone is well.”

Wreck in October

Simpson’s death followed another spectacular wreck in October, when a boat belonging to Oracle Team USA pitch-poled forward, sending the 11-member crew flying into the water. No one was badly hurt, but the $8 million boat was dragged out the Golden Gate by the tide and smashed to bits by waves. The Artemis boat was also destroyed, but the team has a second boat available.

Both episodes underscore the inherent danger in pushing souped-up racing sailboats, capable of reaching speeds of 46 mph, to their limits on the windy and choppy bay. The towering catamarans used in this year’s race are worlds away from the slower single-hull boats that traditionally faced off for the America’s Cup. Simpson’s death is only the second in the 162-year-history of the Cup.

Simpson died despite a frantic effort to save him. When he was found beneath the catamaran, teammates hauled him aboard a support boat. A San Francisco police officer from the department’s marine unit then jumped aboard and began performing CPR as the boat raced toward an ambulance waiting on shore near the St. Francis Yacht Club, said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.

Rescuers continued to perform CPR on the dock of the nearby marina until finally declaring Simpson dead, the chief said. It was the end of a celebrated career: A sailor since he was 6, Simpson won gold in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and silver in the 2012 London Games.

“Your heart just sinks,” said Bob Naber, commodore with the Bay Area Multihull Association. “This was a spectacular young man. A two-time medal winner and a father. … There’s just a big sadness.”

Series of setbacks

The accident was another setback for the staging of the America’s Cup in San Francisco, which has sparked great excitement and anticipation but also controversy.

Corporate sponsors have been hard to find, while private fundraising efforts to defray up to $32 million in city costs have lagged, prompting Mayor Ed Lee in February to step in to try to raise $20 million personally. A waterfront development deal with Oracle CEO and co-founder Larry Ellison’s regatta group was scuttled in February 2012.

In a statement Thursday, Lee said, “This unexpected accident on the bay leaves our hearts heavy. Our thoughts and prayers are with Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson’s family and friends at this time of tremendous sadness. Andrew was a beloved member of the Artemis racing team and will be deeply missed by all.”

Injured teammate

Another team member suffered minor injuries and was treated at the yacht club, said Fire Department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge. The other sailors were taken to the team’s base in Alameda, where they milled about in tears, comforting one another.

It was not immediately known what caused the boat, a 72-foot catamaran with a 131-foot-tall wing sail, to capsize. Winds were about 20 mph, authorities said.

The boat’s bright-red underside was visible from the northeast shore off Treasure Island as a dozen other boats surrounded it and towed it to the island.

Bart Rugo, a Coast Guard auxiliary member who lives near the part of shore where the boat capsized, said the winds Thursday were a “little above normal.”

“You always have to pay attention to the wind,” Rugo said. “If you don’t make a turn at the right time with a boat like that, it’s easy to go over. With that much sail, the margin of error is small.”